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The leading doctors' union has sounded a caution against what it calls widespread "alarmist rhetoric" regarding the present flu outbreak, as its members decide on the possibility of impending walkouts in England the coming week.

Union Response to Government Concerns

This statement arrives after the Health Minister, Wes Streeting, expressed "extremely worried" about the potential "combined impact" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and the upcoming junior doctor strikes.

BMA resident doctors committee chair, Dr Jack Fletcher, stated that while the union was not "diminishing" the impact of flu, Mr. Streeting "ought not to be scaremongering the public into thinking that the NHS will not be able to look after them."

"As doctors, we at the BMA wish to ensure that patients remain safe," correspondence from the union noted.

Strike Vote and Potential Schedule

The outcome of a BMA ballot is expected on Monday. If the offer is turned down, a industrial action lasting five days will commence on Wednesday.

The government says its offer includes legislation that prioritises British medical graduates for specialty training jobs starting next year and offers to pay for exam fees.

Yet, the deal does not include a wage hike. The Prime Minister has written that pay for resident doctors has risen by 28.9% over the past three years.

Calls for Focus on a Deal

In a release, the BMA called on the health secretary to "devote his efforts on offering a deal that will stop next week's strikes going ahead, rather than making claims that strike action could cause the NHS to collapse."

The BMA has also contacted chief executives of NHS Trusts in England, indicating that, in the event of a strike, resident doctors may be asked to come back to work to "uphold safe patient care."

Political Reaction and Flu Statistics

Speaking to media, Mr. Streeting said the current situation was "perhaps the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid." He questioned why the BMA hadn't accepted an offer to push the strike back to January.

Echoing the health secretary, the prime minister said the "reckless" strikes "should not happen" while the NHS is facing its "most challenging moment since the pandemic."

Regarding the flu outbreak, experts note it has come early this winter. Around 2,660 patients per day were in hospital with flu in England last week – the highest for this time of year on record in 2021.

However, these records start from 2021 and so do not include the two worst flu seasons of the past 15 years.

Despite the increasing figures, the medical director for the NHS in London said the flu situation was "within manageable limits" of what the NHS could manage and that hospitals were better prepared for large disease outbreaks since the Covid pandemic.

The union said it will ask its members whether the government's latest offer will be sufficient to call off Wednesday's strikes. Should members agree, a detailed vote would be held on ending the dispute for good.